For Love of a Slytherin

Before He Cheats

DISCLAIMER – Harry Potter and its affiliates are the sole property of JK Rowling.

DISCLAIMER – This is a gay slash story between Draco and Harry. If you are offended by gay rights, or homosexual innuendoes, then I humbly ask that you not read beyond this point. Thank you for understanding.

NOTE – Thanks to all of you wonderful readers, "For Love of A Slytherin" has done better than any other story I have written so far in popularity and fan favorites. Thank you for following with me on the ability for me to show a loving side of myself. For those of you that have been waiting patiently or not so patiently, here is the next chapter.

Chapter 14 – Before He Cheats

February came with surprisingly cold winds. Slytherin was in the lead for the Quidditch Cup. What surprised many was that Hufflepuff was in the lead for the House Cup as they were ahead in points by a wide margin. Harry was sitting at his desk wondering what he was going to do with the rest of his afternoon. He was reviewing in his mind things that had happened in his classes. He would smile at some things, and frown at others. There was always a prankster who thought they could cause a problem in class and get away with it. Harry enjoyed a good joke as well as the next, but sometimes things went a little too far and he had to put his foot down. It was on this occasion when he sat down at his desk for his third year Slytherin and Hufflepuff class that he assigned detention to a student for causing the legs of Harry's chair to disappear causing him to hit his head on the desk as he fell. Harry sent the imps to Vernon with a letter explaining what they did and when they were to report for detention. Harry could hear Vernon yelling about the incident all the way from his classroom. He was glad he was not on the receiving end of Vernon's tongue lashing. Minerva could be heard a few minutes later giving them her own rant.

Harry had taken to leaving his classroom door open. He enjoyed the sounds of things in the castle. It also gave him an opportunity to see one of Team Potter sneak into his class during one of their breaks and listen with interest as he taught. Harry was especially delighted when that person was Draco. The class would titter when he lost his train of thought when he realized his beloved was sitting in the room. He was reviewing in his minds eye his sixth year class. He saw Pansy sitting in the last row taking notes. She did not call attention to herself, nor did she cause any problems. She just listened to his lecture and when class was over she left. Harry said nothing to her. As long as she was not causing problems he would continue to allow her to attend classes. He even walked around the room and whispered a correction on one of her notes to her. As he walked away he could see her scribbling the correction furiously. Draco had smiled at him for this.

"What are you smiling about lover?" asked Draco coming into the dorm and sitting down next to Harry.

"I am reviewing in my mind Pansy's behavior in the class today," said Harry. "I think I will offer her special training on the side if she wants it. As long as she behaves herself, I see no problem with continuing with her education."

"Would you like me to go and talk with her for you?" asked Draco.

"That would be great lover," said Harry. "Tell her I will make time for her as best as I can."

"I will handle it," said Draco.

After Draco left, Harry looked over to see Hermione standing there.

"Harry can I talk with you for a moment?" she asked.

"Do you really need to ask?" he replied. "You know I will always make time for you."

"I uh," she stammered. "I wanted to know how you got started with Draco."

"Meaning?" asked Harry. "You helped us get started."

"No," she said hesitantly. "I mean before you guys were a couple. How did you guys break the ice?"

"I sent him a letter," said Harry. "I know for a fact that you have read that book."

"Yes I have," she said blushing. "The words the two of you pass back and forth are so amazing."

"There is someone here in the school that I am interested in," said Hermione. "I don't know how to approach the subject."

"Boy or girl?" asked Harry.

"She is female," said Hermione with a blush.

"Is she a member of Team Potter?" he asked.

"Yes she is," said Hermione going red.

"Then I suggest you tell Ginny how you feel," said Harry. "Do not beat around the bush. You may find that your interest is returned."

"How did you know it was Ginny?" asked Hermione extremely red in the face.

"Only an idiot would not see the looks that the two of you give one another when the other is not looking," said Harry with a smile. "Just talk to her. You will be very surprised at the answer you get in return."

"When did you get so wise Harry?" asked Hermione kissing him on the cheek.

"When the weight of the world was placed on my shoulders," said Harry.

"Oh Harry," said Hermione.

"I should not have said that," Harry said to her. "I am sorry."

"There is nothing for you to be sorry for," she replied. "We all know that you have so much on your mind. You watch out over the school to all hours of the night. I have seen your notations on how to get to the last two Horcruxes. You wander around the halls at night taking the place of the prefects. It is a burden that is hard. Draco and I totally understand how you feel."

"She is right you know," said Draco coming in and sitting in Harry's lap. "I was listening from the door. You work so hard to protect the rest of us. We are learning from you. We know what could happen. We also know that one or more of us could die before this war is over. It is a necessary evil to end the reign of Voldemort."

"The prophecy states," began Harry, but Hermione cut him off.

"We know what the prophecy states Harry," she said. "No where in that prophecy does it say that you need to do it alone. The reason that many of us joined Team Potter was to help you win this war."

"I know," said Harry. "I just cringe at the thought of one of you getting hurt or killed because of Voldemort."

"The only way to stop that is to stop him," said Draco.

"What did Pansy say?" asked Harry changing the subject.

"She said she would be happy to come for private lessons," said Draco. "She also gave me a warning. She said that Crabbe, Goyle, and Warrington are trying to get into the dorm so that they can get their hands on the swords and wands of the founders. They are trying to recruit other members. I think they have Millicent Bulstrode recruited already."

"Then I think it is time to do a few things here in the dorm," said Harry. Draco, please go and get the Head Master and the Heads of House. Hermione, please go and gather the rest of Team Potter. I will be performing some extensive magic and I need the power boost."

Both Hermione and Draco nodded as they stood to leave. Draco grabbed Harry and kissed him full on the lips before he departed. Harry touched his lips for a moment and smiled to himself. He went round and checked to see who was already in the dorm and asked them to come into the common room. He quickly conjured seats in a circle that would accommodate nineteen people. Harry went to the showcases that held the wands of the founders and checked the wards. Unlike the swords, these would not return to him if someone had them. The swords would always return to his hand no matter who was holding them. As the true heir of the founders, he was the only one that would work for. He checked on the wards on the tomes. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Not even Albus was able to penetrate these wards. Harry sat at the head of the circle. He looked over to the marauders map and saw the trickle of teachers and students heading towards the dorm. It was not long before everyone was assembled.

"What is going on Harry?" asked Albus pleasantly as he took his seat.

For an answer, Harry nodded at Draco who related what he learned in the Slytherin common room. There was a nod of understanding as Harry began to outline his plan.

"We know that it is possible to get into a common room that is not of your house," said Harry. "Ron and I were able to do it in our second year. Polyjuice Potion works wonders even in Hogwarts when you want to disguise yourself as someone else. What I would like to do is use the spell that the goblins use. It is called Thief's Downfall. I would like to cast it on the doorway of the common room. That way if someone does like Ron and I did and gets in here, their disguise will fail. If I am successful, I will not only place that spell on this common room, but on the entrances to the other common rooms as well. So for this, I would like the strength of the whole group of you. With enough power I can set it in the wards around the castle as well."

Albus stood up and explained to everyone what they needed to do. There was no doubt in his mind that Harry was going to push his limits to their fullest. Even though he was concerned about Harry, he knew that the young man was indeed correct in the need for it to happen. No one could get their hands on the wands or tomes or many of the other books in this room. The danger was too great for that. Once Albus was sure that everyone knew what to do, he sat down and started pulling in the people he was familiar with. Harry did the same with Draco, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Having worked with them for so long, it was easy to pull them into the mesh. When Harry had them safely in tuned with himself, he flung the power to Albus who caught it and quickly added it to the circle. When they had the full circle, everyone could see the bright white flow of energy that surrounded them. Harry slowly began the incantation. He pushed out from the Potter Dorm. He hit every single doorway in the castle. When he had that accomplished, he pushed harder and hit the surroundings of the castle. These included Hagrid's hut, the greenhouses, and the gates of Hogwarts themselves. He added more power to the wards that were already there. When he was done, he allowed, Albus and Severus to slowly untangle the others. At last, Harry was released from the cone of power and passed out cold.

Draco and Hermione were weary from the pull of power, but they were able to stagger to Harry. Albus and Severus quickly joined them. Those that were able to stand escorted those that couldn't to their rooms. Severus lifted Harry up and carried him to his bed. He ran a diagnostic over him with his wand.

"He seems to be ok," said Severus. "This was just an awful amount of power he pulled on. I would feel more comfortable if Poppy ran a check on his as well just to make sure."

Minerva nodded and quickly left to go get the nurse. Draco crawled into bed next to Harry and was asleep in moments. Minutes later, Poppy entered the room.

"What has this fool of a child been doing now?" she asked whipping out her wand and scanning Harry.

"He was strengthening the wards on the castle," said Albus. "He was just giving us a little more protection."

Albus quickly filled her in on the finer points of the events. She nodded her head when she at last understood why he did what he did.

"He is going to be fine," said the nurse. "He will probably sleep clean through the night and late into the morning. I will come back and give him another checkup. The same goes for Mr. Malfoy."

"Thank you Poppy," said Albus. "Your concern for the young men is admirable."

"Well I am very partial to both boys," she said with a smile. "They are both such wonderful young men. I just wish they would take it easy every once in awhile."

Everyone laughed at this statement. The four adults stood in the room for a few moments. Harry shifted in his sleep until he felt Draco. Upon touching the blonde, he quieted down into a restful slumber. Smiling the older faculty members left the room.

"What do you intend to do about the Slytherins that are attempting to gain access to items in this dorm?" asked Minerva to Severus.

"For now it seems that we can only keep a watchful eye on them," he replied. "I can't technically do anything to them for talking about it. When they decide to act upon it, then I will step in. I may be forced to expel them if they try something so foolish."

The next few days saw a blur of activity. Valentines Day passed with lots of wonderful gifts. Harry and Draco gave the school a special treat and did a duet for them. From there school was back on track. Things looked like it was going well for everyone. Severus was determined to keep the students from stealing his potions ingredients. That did not stop students from bringing in their own.

One evening, Draco was sitting in the Great Hall with Pansy reviewing some things in DADA. They were not aware that watchful eyes were upon them. Ginny had stationed herself in the Great Hall after her classes to do some of her homework. OWLS were coming up for her soon and she was studying hard so that she would pass. Ginny looked up to see Pansy brush a lock of hair from Draco's face. Draco did not act upon it, but he did not stop her either. She watched as Pansy made a few more subtle hints. From grabbing Draco's arm, she went on to start rubbing his back. Ginny was becoming more livid by the moment. Draco should know better. It may seem innocent to him, but Ginny was a woman. She knew what Pansy was up to. Finally she had enough. She quietly left the hall and went in search of Harry. She found him coaching Dudley in DADA in the common room of Team Potter.

"Excuse me for interrupting," she said. "Harry I think we have a problem."

"Not yet," said Ginny. "I think you need to have a talk with Pansy and Draco."

She spent the next fifteen minutes telling Harry her observations and her suspicions.

"That does seem to be a problem," said Harry.

"You need to put a stop to it," said Ginny fiercely. "BEFORE HE CHEATS!"

"Do you really think Draco would do that to me?" asked Harry tearing up at once.

"She will stop at nothing to get him back and away from you," said Ginny. "I am sorry Harry. I don't want her to ruin what you guys have."

"I guess we better take care of this then," said Harry heading towards the door.

Ginny and Dudley trailed behind him. As they walked down the corridor more members of Team Potter saw the look on his and Ginny's faces and fell in step with him. When they approached the entrance hall, they all received a huge shock. Draco was pointing his finger and fiercely giving Pansy a verbal thrashing.

"WHAT IS THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Harry asked loudly.

This caused Draco to jump and spin around. Pansy was trying to hastily close her blouse.

"Draco made a pass at me?" she said pointing her finger at him. "I was trying to make him stop."

The look of shock on Draco's face was a dead giveaway that she had just told a huge lie. Harry was furious. Lipstick was on Draco's face and on his collar. His hair was messed up as if she had jumped on him.

"Lover," said Draco. "I swear to you that I have not done anything. I will even let you use Legilimency on me to prove that I am telling the truth. We can get Severus to give us some Veritaserum so that I can prove to you that I have done nothing wrong."

There were tears in Draco's eyes as he held out his hands beseechingly towards Harry. Harry sent a quick mind probe to Draco. Draco grabbed Harry and practically dragged him into the memory of what had occurred. Harry was getting angrier by the minute. The more he saw the more he wanted to curse Pansy. Harry came out of his lovers mind with a snap. Draco was still standing there crying. Harry beckoned him over. He used the sleeve of his robe to wipe the lipstick off his face and to dry his tears. Pansy meanwhile was trying to discreetly leave the Great Hall.

"DO NOT MOVE," snarled Harry.

Members of Team Potter quickly cut off her retreat. Severus and Albus approached the hall just in time to hear Harry's next words.

"For you lack of decorum and public nudity in the public eye of the school," said Harry. "I will take fifty points from Slytherin House. For your false accusations upon another student, I will take another fifty points. For sexually harassing a student in this school, I will take one hundred points from Slytherin. I will be filing a formal complaint to your Head of House about your behavior. The memory of today's events will be given to the Head Master. You will be lucky to not be expelled. As it is I think you will be at least suspended for awhile. If you are not suspended or expelled, you will serve detention with the Dursleys every night for the rest of the school year. Hogsmeade visits are hereby cancelled for you. You will report to your dorm and stay there unless you are eating, in class, or serving your detention."

"If I can't have him," she said in a deadly whisper. "Then no one can. AVEDA KEDAVRA!"

Her words feel short as stunners from Harry, Albus, Severus, and Hermione all collided with her spell. Harry had her dangling upside down by her ankle using the Levicorpus Spell.

"Well, well, well," said Severus in a dangerous voice. "It would appear you had ulterior motives for being so kind to Professor Potter. It would appear you were trying to get close enough to try and steal away Draco from him. It would also appear that you are in fact a spy here in the castle."

"It looks like she has the Dark Mark," said Hermione in a whisper. "Why would she have that? She is only sixteen."

"An interesting question," said Albus looking at Pansy's left arm. "Harry would you mind letting her down? I don't think she will be a problem any longer."

Harry mumbled the countercharm and watched Pansy hit the floor in a heap. He turned to Draco.

"I did not accept your invitation to use Legilimency because I thought you were lying," he said. "I used it so that I could have the evidence I needed against her. I am sorry you had to go through that."

"I would have done anything at all to prove my innocence to you," said Draco. "I love you to much too ever do anything intentionally to hurt you."

"I know my baby," said Harry holding him as Draco sobbed into his shoulder. "Hermione and Ginny, would you please take Draco to our room and sit with him for me. I will be there as soon as I am done here."

Both girls nodded and took the sobbing Draco and escorted him out of the Great Hall. Harry turned back to the scene before him. Pansy was helped to her feet and being escorted to a small room to await the Aurors.

"Sonorus," said Albus. "All students are to report immediately to the Great Hall. All teachers are to present themselves here as well. Quietus!"

Draco came back in with red eyes. Hermione and Ginny were by his side. Albus walked over to them and whispered some words of encouragement. The trio nodded and sat at their table. Soon the Great Hall was filled with the students.

"It would appear that there is at least one student in this school that has been branded with the Dark Mark," said Albus. "Professor Potter and I will check each and every student and faculty member for the Mark. We will start with the faculty. It you do not have the Mark then please guard the perimeter to prevent anyone who does from leaving."

Harry and Albus made their rounds through the professors. None of them had the Dark Mark. As Albus nodded to each, they stationed themselves around the perimeter of the hall. To prove a point that there was no favorites, Albus and Harry started with Team Potter. When they were cleared, they too were instructed to surround the perimeter. Albus and Harry started with Gryffindor. When the student was cleared, they were allowed to leave with instructions to head straight back to their common room. Harry and Albus proceeded next to the Hufflepuff table. Once more the students were cleared and they left with their instructions. From there Harry and Albus went to Ravenclaw. Here they found a seventh year with the Dark Mark. Like Pansy, her wand was taken, and she was led to the chamber that held the Slytherin. There were a handful of students at the Slytherin table that were looking uncomfortable. Albus and Harry took their time in examining each of the students. There was no less than six more Slytherins that bore the mark. Among them were Marcus Flint, Crabbe, Goyle, Warrington, and Millicent Bulstrode. Their wands were confiscated and they were led away. The rest of Slytherin House was dismissed to their common room.

"I think I will start examining the houses for Dark objects," said Harry to Albus. "Each Professor and you already know what is in the rooms of Team Potter. I will work with each Head of House and search the rooms. I will go in the same order that we did with this."

Albus nodded his head. Harry gestured to Hermione, Draco, and Ginny. They walked over to Minerva who led them out of the hall. The fat lady opened up and they entered. They split up into two teams and made their way up to the dorm rooms. Thankfully, there were only a couple of items that were on Petunia's banned list that was present. Harry and Minerva took ten points apiece for each item found. Harry and his group met up with Pomona and the same routine followed. Minor infractions resulting in point loss, but nothing dangerous was found. At Ravenclaw, they were met by Filius and they repeated the routine. The girl with the Dark Mark had a minor dark object. Harry quickly confiscated it and had the rest of her dorm mates pack up her belongings.

"Send them to the Great Hall when you are done," he said. "She will not be coming back to Ravenclaw House."

Severus led the procession to the dungeons and into Slytherin common room. It took longer here as more dark items were found. Each was confiscated. If the person who did not have the dark mark had a possession, they lost points and received a detention. Hermione was keeping notes of all the names of those said students who were in possession of the items. When it was all said and done, they had confiscated over fifty dark items, and more than one hundred banned items.

"Hermione," said Harry. "I want notices to go up that we will be doing this once a month."

Hermione handed the list she made to Severus and left to do as Harry asked.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," said Severus. "To think it has come to us having to do dorm checks to see who is attempting to smuggle in dark artifacts."

He and Harry started placing the items into a crate as Ginny cataloged them. When they were done, Harry waved his wand and the crate vanished and reappeared in Albus' office. They left the Slytherin common room, and Harry made it back to his own room so that he could be with Draco. Harry had kept him busy on purpose. He did not want Draco to think about what had happened in the Great hall. When he entered his room, he saw Draco in a ball on the bed crying. Harry's heart shredded as he saw the pain his lover was in. Harry quickly climbed into the bed and wrapped his arms around Draco.

"I would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship," said Draco through his tears. "I love you entirely too much for that."

"I know," said Harry softly. "You never have to worry about me not trusting you. Our lives are too entwined now for us to ever split apart. No one will ever be able to come between us. I hope you know that I would do anything for you. I would fight anyone for you. I would even die for you if it meant that you would be safe, healthy, and sound. You are my entire world."

I give to you the hub of a tire

It is a mark of my affection.

I would give to you a whole fleet of cars

To prove, that I love you.

I would give to you the petal of a rose

To show how much I care.

I would give to you the whole garden

To prove, that I want you.

I would give to you a star

To show how much I cry for you.

I would give to you the galaxy

To prove, that I desire you.

I would give to you a drop of blood

To show how much I need you.

I would give to you my life

To prove, that you are the one.

"That is beautiful," said Draco. "Who sings that?"

"No one does lover," said Harry. "It is a bit of poetry that I wrote just for you."

"Oh Harry," said Draco. "I absolutely love it. You are so good to me."

"You are the air that I breathe," said Harry.

Draco reached up and grabbed Harry by the neck and crushed his lips to Harry's with desire and lust in his eyes. They made love a couple times that evening. Later in the evening, Harry placed the sheet of parchment with the poem on it in a frame. He left it on Draco's desk. The next day, Draco had placed it on the wall for everyone to see.

"I would give to you" became the standard of the Potter Dorm. Copies circulated the school. Harry received a letter from the Daily Prophet asking to print the poem. Harry wrote them back saying that it was no longer his poem to give.

Harry and Draco were met by Petunia the following Saturday. Molly and Narcissa were already seated at the table when Harry and Draco entered the room.

"We want to tell you guys about some things for the wedding," said Petunia. "Sit!"

Harry and Draco grinned and sat together on the couch.

"The flowers will be red and white roses," said Narcissa. "You will both be in a black tux. Harry will wear a red shirt, and Draco will wear a green one. Your bridesmaids will be in lavender, and your groomsmen will be in sapphire blue."

"That sounds interesting," said Harry. "I like the mixture of colors."

"We thought so too," said Molly. "As your engagement bands are already so beautiful, we suggest that you go with a plain band of platinum with a single diamond chip set in it."

"That is fine with me," said Draco. "We are one in saying that we defer to your judgment in this."

"I'm so glad you said that," Petunia smirked. "We believe that you should write your own vows for the wedding. We also believe that each of you should sing a song to the other for the ceremony. I suggest you choose your song wisely."

Harry and Draco smirked at each other. That part would be easy.

"We only have one request," said Harry. "That is we have the wedding here at Hogwarts. It is where Draco and I finally became whole."

"Splendid," said Narcissa. "Harry there is one small thing we need to ask. Who will be walking down the aisle with you? I will be walking with Draco."

"Well," said Harry. "Personally I think both you and Mother Molly should walk with Draco. I of course would be honored to have my Aunt and Uncle walk me down the aisle. That is, if they would like to."

"You know we would both be delighted to walk you down the aisle," said Petunia with a big smile. "We think that Dudley, Neville, and Luna should all be ushers."

"I think they would enjoy that," said Draco. "They are very nice people and I hope that someday they find the happiness that Harry and I have."

The group finished with their talk about the wedding and Harry and Draco left. Harry had papers to grade and Draco had a test to finish studying for. Life was perfectly normal for Harry for once in his life. At the moment, all he had to worry about was grading papers and planning his wedding.

What he didn't know was that his world would soon be turned upside down.

AUTHOR'S NOTE – Thank you for your patience with me. I had to bring in just a little bit of drama into the love story. As promised, I did not put a song in. I left a cliff hanger because we still have six chapters to go and we still have plenty of bad guys. I hope you enjoyed the test of the faith that Harry and Draco have for each other.

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